1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grounding spring for processing static electricity generated in an optical disc drive.
2. Description of Related Art
In an optical disc drive, components may be damaged by static electricity generated in the drive. An optical head, which is a main component of a disc drive for reproducing or recording information on a disc surface, includes a laser diode and the laser diode may be damaged by static electricity. Thus recording and reproduction of the optical disc drive may be interrupted by static electricity.
In an anti-static structure according to the related art, static electricity is discharged from the inside to the enclosure of an optical disc drive by a grounding member composed of a conducting member.
For example, JP-A 2002-245770 discloses a structure in which an ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) pattern is formed from a connector to the vicinity of a threaded hole on an insulating layer on the front side of a motor base of a spindle motor and an ESD plate is soldered to the ESD pattern to discharge static electricity to an external circuit via the connector.
Further, for example, JP-A 2005-123001 discloses an antistatic structure in which static electricity is prevented by conductive elastic members. The conductive elastic members are composed of conductors cylindrically wound between at least three conductive members and are elastically deformable along the respective cylindrical axes.
However, in the technique of JP-A 2002-245770, the ESD pattern has to be additionally formed on the motor base of the spindle motor. Further, it is necessary to provide solder connection between the ESD plate and the ESD pattern and wiring for discharge from the connector to the external circuit. Moreover, components cannot be easily replaced in a defective condition and the cost may increase.
In the technique of JP-A 2005-123001, the cylindrical elastic members (close-coiled springs) are provided between the conductive members in an optical disc drive. However, the conductive members are provided in quite a small space (gap) of the optical disc drive and thus it is difficult to mount the cylindrical elastic members under the dimensional restrictions.